Educational Radio in Somalia

It’s not easy to be a student in
Somalia. Alongside more commonplace issues of quality and access shared
by neighboring nations, Somalia has problems unique to its restless
history. In this fractured nation wracked by persistent violence, there
are few educational certainties.

Students,
parents and teachers can, however, rely on one sure thing. EDC’s Somali
Interactive Radio Instruction Program (SIRIP) broadcasts a regular
schedule of high-quality, imaginative educational programs on shortwave
and FM bands in the South-Central Region, Somaliland in the northwest,
and Puntland in the northeast. SIRIP programs are produced and
broadcast by EDC with funding from USAID.

The most recent
outbreak of violence began in early 2007. An estimated sixty percent of
Mogadishu’s residents have fled their homes, and many of them have gone
to internally displaced person (IDP) camps at the city outskirts. In
these camps refugees live close together in tents and makeshift
structures, safer from violence but subjected to ever-increasing
hardships.

“The SIRIP radio education program remains the
only alternative for education for many IDP children encamped in the
Mogadishu outskirts,” says Feysal Osman, Regional Coordinator for SIRIP
in South-Central Somalia. “Temporary learning centers were set up right
away after their displacement by one of SIRIP’s partners.”

Teachers
trained in interactive radio instruction (IRI) methodologies are among
the displaced, and they are working to ensure learning continues
despite the unrest. EDC had trained teachers in 60 tent schools in the
camps and will conduct further trainings of teachers and distribute
wind-up radios and other materials to encourage tuning in to the
broadcasts.

“A whole generation faced a black future
because of lack of basic education,” says Osman. “Fortunately, now
there is a joint education response program for providing basic
education. EDC’s role here is to provide quality basic education
through radio and, together with partners operating on the ground,
train teachers, distribute teaching and learning materials, and monitor
learning.”

SIRIP does much more than reach the IDP camps.
Daunting educational challenges are common throughout the country:
Somalia has one of the lowest student enrollment rates in the world,
little public financing of education is available, and there is a
limited supply of qualified teachers. In addition, the country’s
division into three administrative zones after 1991 gave rise to three
separate ministries of education that operate independently with little
coordinated planning.

Interactive
Radio Instruction is well-suited to address these challenges. For
instance, IRI can quickly reach a large number of school age children
who are in and out of the formal education system, and IRI is by nature
less susceptible to periods of unrest as content can be regularly
delivered from afar. And while IRI content is most effective with a
facilitator or teacher who conducts pre- and post-broadcast sessions,
small radios are widespread in Somalia and many children are able to
take advantage of the programs outside of a classroom setting. IRI
programs are also effective; a recent study showed that children in IRI
schools performed significantly better than students without IRI in
mathematics and Somali literacy.

Halima Ibrahim, a mother
of two who fled with her family to the south west outskirts of
Mogadishu, appreciates IRI’s flexibility. “We are not intending to go
back to Mogadishu anytime soon,” says Halima. “This radio program is a
golden opportunity for our children to continue their learning in the
camp’s tent school.”

Ibrahim also says SIRIP reaches many
people outside of schools. “For many adults, especially housewives like
me, life would be very boring without it,” she says. “The people here
are addicted to listening [to the SIRIP programs], which we call Barnaamijka Mustaqbal” (the Program of the Future).

Halima’s
example shows why SIRIP works: the demand for education remains strong
in Somalia despite years of turmoil, and SIRIP is able to supply
continuous educational content.

Mr. Osman agrees, having
spent years helping Somalis get the education they desire. “Take a look
at photographs showing children learning from SIRIP programs in IDP
camps,” he says. “You will observe how Somalis do value education
despite all of the difficulties they face.”